I went to the theater to prepare for the play.
It’s a shame I couldn’t cast Lumia and Serena as the female leads, but since I started this, I had no choice but to participate.
The cast members were busy behind the stage, making final checks on their costumes and lines.
The play runs throughout the festival, but today is the first performance, so everyone is visibly nervous.
Lumia stuttered nervously as she asked,
“Ah, I-I-I… Can I d-do it well w-without being nervous…?”
“You’re already nervous.”
“Hiccup, w-what do I do? W-what if I s-stutter on stage…?”
“It’s fine. That’s the role you’re playing anyway.”
Dressed in a maid’s outfit, she hugged herself and trembled.
Stuttering and even hiccuping… She’s really nervous.
Still, it seems like she’ll suit the timid maid role well.
On the other hand, not everyone was as flustered as Lumia.
Elia, for instance, was completely calm.
“I’ve finally realized. Nothing in this world can come between our love.”
She was rehearsing her lines, sticking close to Kalian.
Shoulders touching, hugging, holding hands…
She was doing everything, but since it was under the pretext of rehearsal, I couldn’t really say anything.
As I stood watching quietly, Elia looked at me with an innocent face and asked,
“Oh, Wade. Is something wrong? Was there something lacking in my acting?”
“Not really.”
“Really? You don’t look pleased. Could it be you don’t approve of me ‘rehearsing’ with Kalian?”
This girl was enjoying herself openly.
Even though she had calmed down a bit after my warning, her feelings for Kalian hadn’t diminished.
In fact, she seemed to be enjoying the situation, even taunting me.
“You, come here.”
“What?”
I grabbed her arm for a moment, pulling her away from Kalian.
Then, I whispered softly into her ear,
“What was that explosion earlier?”
“Oh, that? I used a doll to blow up the alchemy lab.”
“Of all places, you had to blow up that one. No wonder it exploded so dramatically.”
“Thanks to that, I think I drew enough attention. Don’t worry, I made sure no one around got hurt. I did well, didn’t I?”
“Well, my ass.”
Elia gave me a sly smile.
I told her to attract attention, but who in their right mind blows up Arcana’s facilities? That’s not normal behavior.
Her doll magic is quite a useful skill, so I spared her life, but it’s going to take a long time to turn her into a proper person.
“Meow, Wade.”
While I was whispering with Elia, Serena approached me.
She was holding a ledger and a schedule, checking the external details of the play.
“Is the play preparation going well, meow?”
“Yeah, it’s not a difficult role for me. Do you think the play will make some money?”
“It looks like it will be more successful than we expected, meow. It’s too early to be sure, but just the people lined up outside are more than enough to fill the seats, meow.”
“That’s good news. I guess having Kalian as the lead had a big impact?”
I wasn’t particularly invested in how the play turned out, but if it was going to happen, it might as well be successful.
“That’s right, meow. Not just the students, but even nobles from outside who are curious about Kalian have come to visit, meow.”
“Did you prepare a VIP section?”
“Of course, meow. We sold tickets for that section in advance, meow.”
“Efficient as always.”
She glanced around.
“By the way, where is Evelyn, meow? I thought for sure she’d be with you, meow.”
“We agreed to meet at the theater, but we parted ways earlier. She’s still not here?”
“Evelyn is the only cast member I haven’t seen yet, meow.”
Don’t tell me she went to meet that Alcatraz or whatever again?
I warned her so much that it couldn’t possibly be the case.
“She must have her reasons. Luckily, she doesn’t have an important role, so it won’t cause any issues with the play.”
“That’s true, but still…”
“We still have to sell tickets, and there’s time before people start coming in. Let’s wait a little longer. She’ll probably show up by then.”
“Got it, meow.”
After brushing off concerns about Evelyn’s tardiness, I headed to the theater entrance to sell tickets.
There were separate staff members selling tickets, but having an actor from the play show their face helped boost sales.
Most of the people coming into the theater were probably there to see Kalian, but it wouldn’t do to satisfy that desire right at the entrance.
Instead, by having me, Kalian’s friend, stand there, it subtly hinted that “Kalian is inside,” heightening their anticipation.
“We will now begin ticket sales.”
As the doors opened, the people lined up outside started stepping in one by one.
The place was packed with people to the point where my view was completely filled.
Since most Arcana students are nobles who hold some authority in their territories, they were desperate to get their tickets, even jostling each other.
Among them, many greeted me as if they knew me personally.
“Hello, Sir Wade.”
“Hello.”
“Seeing you here, Sir Wade, confirms that Sir Kalian is indeed in the play. Where is he?”
“Kalian is busy preparing for the play. Unlike me, he’s the lead, so he has a lot to do.”
At Arcana, I had already become famous as “Kalian’s proxy” or “Kalian’s broker.”
The rumor that wherever Kalian was, I’d also be there—and vice versa—had now become widely accepted as fact.
So people didn’t hesitate to buy tickets as soon as they saw me.
“Two tickets, please.”
Then, an unexpected guest arrived at the theater.
Alcatraz and the Demon King.
They had left earlier, saying they had something to do, but apparently, that “something” was coming to see the theater.
When Alcatraz made eye contact with me, he smiled.
“Oh, isn’t this the person I met earlier?”
“Fancy meeting you here again.”
“Are you part of the theater troupe? What a coincidence. If I’d known, I would have talked with you a bit more.”
Why is this guy here?
Is he scheming something, or did he really just come to watch the play? I couldn’t tell from his expression.
This guy has too many unknowns. I don’t have much information on him, which makes him unpredictable.
Should I refuse to sell him a ticket?
No, that wouldn’t make much of a difference.
If he has something planned, it’ll happen regardless of whether I sell him a ticket.
It’s safer to keep him within my sight.
“Fancy seeing you again. What brings you here?”
As I handed him the tickets, I subtly tested the Demon King.
She doesn’t seem like she’s good at lying, so if they had any suspicious plans, I’d figure it out quickly.
“We’re here to watch the play.”
“Do you like plays?”
“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never watched one before. Books describe it as making up a story and pretending it’s real.”
She seemed clueless.
Come to think of it, all the Demon King had done today was buy food and watch others on dates.
Maybe she really did come to watch the play.
It could be that she’s on some sort of vacation in the outside world.
After all, the Demon King and her army aren’t much different from humans.
Still, until the day she’s killed by Kalian, her life will be nothing but a bloody struggle…
This might be her first and last chance to experience joy.
“Did you enjoy the festival?”
“It was quite fun. Thanks to you, I got to try various foods and watch people in love.”
“Sounds like your outing was worth it. Enjoy the play, too. Everyone worked hard to prepare, so at the very least, you won’t be disappointed.”
“Alright.”
The Demon King and Alcatraz entered the theater.
I hope today passes peacefully if possible.
The Demon King stepped into the dark theater.
The dim lights were just bright enough to guide people to their seats, but even that felt too bright for someone used to darkness.
The theater where the play was being performed was a fairly sizable building within Arcana, but it was insignificant compared to the grandeur of the Demon King’s castle.
As people began taking their seats one by one, the theater quickly filled to capacity.
The Demon King stared up at the stage, where the curtain had not yet risen, and muttered,
“Hmm, so this is a play. Boring.”
“The play hasn’t started yet,” Alcatraz explained.
“Is that so?”
“It begins once the curtain rises.”
So, it hadn’t begun yet.
The Demon King nodded at Alcatraz’s explanation.
When all the audience members were seated, the surrounding lights went out completely.
Soon, flames lit up the stage, and the curtain rose.
A play is, after all, a fabricated story.
It’s a lie that doesn’t exist in reality, made to look real.
The audience derives enjoyment from watching such lies, or so they say.
The Demon King, however, was deeply skeptical.
Real food can be chewed, eaten, and swallowed.
But a play is a lie at its core.
Furthermore, lying is an act that hurts others, yet people find joy in it?
A strange concept indeed.
The play began, and the cast members showcased the skills they had honed.
The story started with Kalian, the male lead, saving Elia, the female lead, from a life-threatening crisis.
Having escaped danger, Elia developed feelings of love for Kalian, and Kalian, too, became enamored with Elia’s kindness.
“But isn’t that just a fake crisis? That love they’re showing is fake too, isn’t it?”
“You must stay quiet in the theater,” Alcatraz warned.
“What’s the point of that fake performance?”
The Demon King lowered her voice as she grumbled.
The play moved into the main love story between Kalian and Elia.
Their love for each other grew stronger, and as they confirmed it wasn’t a one-sided feeling, their affection deepened further.
“To think they’re so desperate for each other. Is love between a man and a woman truly this profound? I never knew.”
Before she realized it, the Demon King had become immersed in the play.
Her immersion grew deeper and deeper.
When the scene came where the two realized they were fated to be enemies who could never be together, the Demon King clutched her chest.
“It hurts. My chest hurts. To care so deeply for someone, yet be destined to kill them… Someone must break this cycle of sorrow.”
“Please calm down. You can’t just rush onto the stage,”
Alcatraz said, pulling her back into her seat when she suddenly stood up.
“What are you doing, Alcatraz? If I intervene, I can solve this problem easily.”
“This is all a fabricated story.”
“Fabricated? But there is true love there. What part of that is fabricated?”
The Demon King was extremely dissatisfied that she couldn’t protect the genuine love of the two lovers.
Yet, at the same time, she believed they might overcome their fate on their own and decided to silently watch over them.
As the play progressed further, the families of Kalian and Elia took action.
Seeing that the bond between the two couldn’t be broken, they decided to send in a specialist to sever their connection.
“Haha, if the two of you continue to meet, I’ll have no choice but to take other measures,” an ominous man appeared on stage.
He cornered Elia, promising to spare her life if she agreed never to meet Kalian again.
“Refuse him. Don’t give up on love!”
The Demon King muttered under her breath, her hands sweating.
And just as she had hoped, Elia rejected the man’s proposal.
The man raised his hands and shouted,
“If that is your decision, I have no choice. Die in despair and regret!”
Bang!
At that moment, part of the theater’s ceiling collapsed, and an unidentified presence appeared.
It took the form of a woman, emanating endlessly dark and dangerous energy.
The audience descended into chaos—some screamed, others bolted from their seats, running for the exits.
Even the cast on stage, including Elia, the ominous man, and other play-related members, were visibly confused, unable to grasp the situation.
“So this is what a play is…!”
However, one person, the Demon King, shuddered with excitement, swallowing nervously.